SKIN EXPOSURES & EFFECTS
Ongoing Skin Research
NIOSH has many research projects related to skin and skin exposures, including those in the following areas:
NORA Dermal Exposure Research Program (DERP)
Estimates indicate that more than 13 million workers in the United States are potentially exposed to chemicals that can be absorbed through the skin. A worker's skin may be exposed to hazardous chemicals through direct contact with contaminated surfaces, deposition of aerosols, immersion, or splashes. When substantial amounts of chemicals are absorbed, systemic toxicity can result. Contact dermatitis can also result when chemicals are absorbed through a worker's skin. Contact dermatitis is one of the most common chemically induced occupational illness, accounting for 10-15 percent of all occupational illnesses at an estimated annual cost of at least $1 billion.
The NORA Dermal Exposure Research Program (DERP) was started in response to this situation. The overall goal of the program is to promote the development of improved NIOSH policies and recommendations for identifying and controlling harmful exposures of the skin to chemicals. This goal will be accomplished by (1) adding critical information to our current knowledge base through laboratory and field investigations and (2) developing and applying scientific decision-making processes for policy development using that knowledge base.
More Information on DERP
Download Information Sheet about
NORA DERP [PDF - 278 KB]
Download Full Project Information [PDF - 134 KB]
Field-Based Studies of Hazards, Health, Risk and Controls
A number of NIOSH research groups have conducted field studies and compiled statistics characterizing dermal exposures, determining health effects, characterizing risks or evaluating exposure controls. Others have worked on improving the tools available for conducting such studies.
Bibliography of Recent NIOSH Peer-Reviewed Publications from Field Based Studies of Hazards, Health, Risk and Controls
2002
Evaluation
of Self-Reported Skin Problems Among Workers Exposed to Toluene Diisocyanate
(TDI) at a Foam Manufacturing Facility
J Occup Environ Med (2002, vol. 44, pp. 1197-1202) - Results suggest that
the skin symptoms among study participants represent an irritant rather
than an immunologic reaction to TDI or arise from an unidentified allergen
present in the foam.
2001
Determinants
of chlorpyrifos exposures and urinary 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol levels
among termiticide applicators
Ann Occup Hyg (2001, vol. 45, pp. 309-321) - Characterizes the exposures
and work activities of 41 applicators in North Carolina using chlorpyrifos-containing
termiticides.
Distributions
and Determinants of Pre-emergent Herbicide Exposures Among Custom Applicators
Ann Occup Hyg (2001, vol. 45, pp. 227-239) - Characterizes the exposure
distributions of four herbicides during the spraying of corn and soybean
fields. Also evaluates determinants of exposure and estimates within-
and between-worker variance components.
2000
Commentary:
Exposure and Absorption of Hazardous Materials Through the Skin
Int J Occup Environ Health (2000, vol. 6, pp. 148-150) - Discusses current
issues involving "skin notations" and proposals to establish
Dermal Occupational Exposure Limits in the context of early pioneering
work on percutaneous absorption of chemicals.
Hand
wash and manual skin wipes
Ann Occup Hyg (2000, vol. 44, pp. 501-510) - Overview of identified methods
and techniques, with emphasis on sampling parameters and sampling efficiency.
1998
Occupational
dermatitis causing days away from work in US private industry
Amer J Industr Med (1998, vol. 34, pp. 568-573) - Estimates the incidence
of occupational dermatitis cases that cause days away from work and characterizes
those cases.
Cancer
Risks Among Workers Exposed to Metalworking Fluids: A Systematic Review
Amer J Industr Med (1998, vol. 33, pp. 282-292) - Substantial evidence
was found for an increased risk of skin cancer associated primarily with
straight-oil metalworking fluids used prior to the mid-1970s.
View full abstracts from list above. [PDF - 100 KB]
Methodological Studies for Improved Chemical Analyses and Risk Analyses
A number of NIOSH research groups have conducted laboratory studies to improve the analysis of various types of samples and to improve tools for estimating risk.
Bibliography of Recent NIOSH Peer-Reviewed Publications from Methodological Studies for Improved Chemical Analyses and Risk Analyses
2003
In
vivo sensitization to purified Hevea brasiliensis
proteins in health care workers sensitized to natural rubber latex
J Allergy Clin Immunol (2003, vol. 111, pp. 610-616) - Identifies
four latex proteins as major in vivo allergens in health care workers.
Current FDA-approved serum tests do not correctly detect sensitization
in many workers.
Steady-State
Flux and Lag Time in the Stratum Corneum Lipid Pathway: Results from
Finite Element Models
J Pharm Sci (2003, vol. 92, pp. 2196-2207) - Simple mathematical equations
can be used to predict the transport properties of the stratum corneum
lipid pathway. These properties depend on the geometrical arrangement
of the corneocytes.
2002
A
Critique of Assumptions About Selecting Chemical-Resistant Gloves:
A Case for Workplace Evaluation of Glove Efficacy
Appl Occup Environ Hyg (2002, vol. 17, pp. 360-367) - Identifies and
discusses variables that may influence the performance of chemical-resistant
gloves. The authors recommend passive dermal monitoring to evaluate
glove performance under actual-use conditions.
A
New Technique to Determine Organic and Inorganic Acid Contamination
Analyst (2002, vol. 127, pp. 178-182) - Reports the results of tests
of the permeation of propionic and acrylic acids through glove materials
using a modified ASTM protocol and new pads that change color when
acid is detected.
A
Random Walk Model of Skin Permeation
Risk Analysis (2002, vol. 22, pp. 265-276 - Diffusion is
modeled as a two-dimensional random walk through stratum corneum.
Algebraic expressions are developed to predict the movement of chemicals
through skin.
In-Use
Testing and Interpretation of Chemical-Resistant Glove Performance
Appl Occup Environ Hyg (2002, vol. 17, pp. 368-378) - Reviews methods
for testing glove performance during use in the workplace and suggests
an approach for estimating acceptable exposure guidance criteria for
chemicals that are systemically absorbed.
Regarding
the Sources of Data Analyzed with Quantitative Structure-Skin Permeability
Relationship Methods
Eur J Pharm Sci (2002, vol. 15, pp. 399-403) - Cautions that a published
set of presumably experimental data includes some values that were
calculated. That makes these data unsuitable for developing statistical
predictions of skin permeability.
2001
Development
of Sampling and Analytical Methods for Concerted Determination of
Commonly Used Chloroacetanilide, Chlorotriazine, and 2,4-D Herbicides
in Hand-wash, Dermal-patch, and Air Samples
Appl Occup Environ Hyg (2001, vol. 16, pp. 698-707) - Reports on a
hand-wash method (shaking the worker's hand in a bag containing isopropanol),
a dermal-patch method (attaching a foam patch to the worker) and an
air method (sampling with an OVS-2 tube) with analysis by gas chromatography
with an electron-capture detector. Each of the sampling and analytical
methods met NIOSH criteria for most of the eight herbicides studied.
Random
Sampling or 'Random' Model in Skin Flux Measurements? [Commentary
on "Investigation of the Mechanism of Flux Across Human Skin
In Vitro by Quantitative Structure Permeability Relationships"]
Eur J Pharm Sci (2001, vol. 14, pp. 197-200) - Discusses some major
hurdles on the way to full understanding of Quantitative Structure–Activity
Relationships (QSAR) of skin permeation.
Receiver
Operating Characteristics Analyses of Food and Drug Administration-cleared
Serological Assays for Natural Rubber Latex-specific Immunoglobulin
E Antibody
Clin Diagn Lab Immunol (2001, vol. 8, pp. 1145-1149) - Evaluates and
compares the diagnostic accuracy of three Food and Drug Administration
(510K)-cleared natural rubber latex (NRL)-specific immunoglobulin
E (IgE) antibody immunoassays using well-characterized skin-testing
reagents.
2000
A
Laboratory Comparison of Two Media for Use in the Assessment of Dermal
Exposure to Pesticides
Appl Occup Environ Hyg (2000, vol. 15, pp. 946-950) - Compares the
ability of gauze pads and Empore filters to assess the dermal exposure
of two insecticides (chlorpyrifos and diazinon) and five herbicides
(atrazine, alachlor, metolachlor, cyanazine, and 2,4-D ethylhexyl
ester).
A
Quantitative Study of Aromatic Amine Permeation Through Protective
Gloves Using Amine Adsorptive Pads
Am Ind Hyg Assoc J (2000, vol. 61, pp. 837-841) - Characterizes the
permeation of aniline through a protective glove material using Permea-Tec®
aromatic amine pads.
A
Robust Structure-Activity Relationship (SAR) Model for Esters that
Cause Skin Irritation in Humans
Toxicol Sci (2000, vol. 55, pp. 215-222) - Describes a model based
on data for 42 esters that were tested in humans for skin irritation.
The model results indicate that physicochemical features of esters
contribute to their ability to cause skin irritation in humans, and
that chemical partitioning into the epidermis and intermolecular reactions
are likely important components of the response. This model may be
applicable for prediction of human irritation of esters yet untested.
Comparison
of Solvents for Removing Pesticides from Skin Using an In Vitro Porcine
Model
Am Ind Hyg Assoc J (2000, vol. 61, pp. 82-88) - Found that four hydrophilic
solvents acted similarly in removing pesticides with a wide range
of water solubilities 90 minutes after the pesticide was applied to
the skin. A smaller fraction of pesticide was removed when a smaller
amount was applied.
1999
Determination
of Alkylamine Permeation Through Protective Gloves Using Aliphatic
Amine Pads
J Environ Monit (1999, vol. 1, pp. 545-548) - Characterizes the analytical
capabilities of Permea-Tec® aliphatic amine pads for
testing the permeation of triethylamine through gloves. Breakthrough
times for several protective glove materials ranged from 40 s to >4
h.
Recovery
of Some Common Solvents from Protective Clothing Breakthrough Indicator
Pads by Microwave-Solvent Extraction and Gas Chromatography
Analyst (1999, vol. 124, pp. 941-944) - Characterizes the analytical
capabilities of Permea-Tec® general solvent pads for
six solvents: methanol, acetone, ethyl methyl ketone, trichloroethylene,
tetrachloroethylene, toluene, m-xylene, and D-limonene.
View full abstracts from list above [PDF - 143 KB]
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